When it came down to it, Fred Box said, it wasn’t worth losing any friends.

That’s why, he said, he announced his resignation from the Basehor City Council on Monday night. His departure marked the end of a 90-minute stalemate among council members, and as of midnight it left the city with just two of the six elected officials it had before Monday evening.

But Box said he hoped it would also help the city begin to heal from months of political fighting that was threatening to turn neighbor against neighbor in this town of about 5,000.

He knew he had friends sitting in the audience who disagreed with him. And so, he said, it just wasn’t worth fighting anymore.

“My friends mean more to me than that,” Box said.

Before Box’s announcement, a work session with no agenda items had stretched on for an hour and a half and threatened to last until midnight, when Mayor Terry Hill and City Council members Dennis Mertz and Iris Dysart were due to be removed from office following a recall vote last week. The council had voted down 12 motions to adjourn as Mertz fought to move the council into a regular meeting so that it could take action, while Hill refused to allow it.

Audience members shouted at the council members and the mayor, and the officials talked over one another.

Hill said he believed Mertz intended to appoint Box as the council’s new president, ensuring that he would become mayor after the midnight deadline passed and Hill was removed. But the mayor said such an action would be inappropriate after residents had just thrown out half the city’s elected officials.

“Two members have been recalled, and I have been recalled,” Hill said. “This council does not need to make a decision for the city.”

But Mertz, Dysart and Box again and again voted to reject motions to adjourn, refusing to back down.

“Mayor, we can do this all night,” Mertz said at one point.

The mayor said the city could not make any decisions at a work session, which is intended for discussion only; Mertz said the council had done so before, and officials with the League of Kansas Municipalities said the city would not face any penalties if the council voted on something. City Attorney Shannon Marcano said the city should follow its policy and stick to discussion only; Mertz read from an email from Marcano from last fall, saying the council did not need to revote on decisions it had made during work sessions in the past.

Hill said he would not allow a vote, even if it meant waiting until midnight.

But when the council returned about 8:30 p.m. after two recesses of about a half-hour each, the battle was over. Box announced his resignation, and adjournment attempt No. 13 passed by a 4-0 vote, the council deciding unanimously to close the book on this chapter in the city’s history.

In a resignation letter he read aloud, Box said he didn’t believe he could serve the city the way he wanted to under the city’s new mayor, whomever it might be.

“There has been corruption in the city administration long enough, and I desire to no longer be a party to it,” Box said.

But he said, too, that he wanted the city to move on from the recall election and the fighting that surrounded it.

“This city has got to get back to operating correctly,” Box said.

Last week, Hill denied a request from Box, Dysart and Mertz to have a special meeting. Dysart said the purpose would have been to appoint Box as the council’s new president and, therefore, the city’s next mayor.

Box was the third council member, along with Mertz and Dysart, to vote for the surprise firing of former City Administrator Mark Loughry in September — the action on which the petition seeking the recall of the two council members centered. Leaders of the recall effort said last fall that the only reason they did not also seek to recall Box was that state law forbids the recall of a majority of the city council at the same time.

After the session adjourned, Hill asked for the standing-room-only audience to remain as he, Dysart and Mertz gave parting thoughts. Dysart thanked residents for allowing her to serve for nearly nine years on the council, Mertz said he was proud that the city had purchased the Field of Dreams athletic complex with his support during his time in office, and Hill said he believed the city would recover from the negative attention it had received during the recall process.

“My apologies go out to all the citizens of Basehor that did not deserve what has just happened to this city,” Hill said.

Following Box’s departure, Basehor’s only remaining elected officials are now council members David Breuer and Travis Miles. They will have to choose between themselves a new mayor and then appoint four new council members.

Miles said he wanted to appoint new members through an application process, so as many people as possible could put their hats in the ring.

“There’s a lot of people out there in the community that are more than qualified to fill a council seat,” Miles said, “and a lot of them, I don’t know who they are.”

Breuer said he appreciated Box’s attempt to patch up the tensions among council members, and he was glad the evening had ended on “a little bit calmer note.”

“I just hope that we can get back to doing city business,” Breuer said, “and try to move forward as a city.”

Comments

I hate to see Mr. Box go. I think he is a great guy and an actual american hero! However if he has to go to make sure that Mertz has no "friends" to possibly influence in city hall then it is for the best. We all watched Mertz try and try to get a member of his "posse" in a position of authority. Thankfully Mr. Hill shot it down. Mertz I hope you FINALLY realize people are sick of listening to you! I think just your affiliation with Mr. Box cost him a chance at mayor. Hopefully we can all move on from this mess now.

Seems to me we the people of Basehor should have a special election to replace the recalled Mayor, council members and Mr Box's seat. l think for the two remaining members to appoint the replacements could be counter productive as they could appoint people that are personal friends of theirs.

I think we should have voted for a mayor during the recall election, that way the new mayor could have taken office if the current one was recalled. Why didn't anybody think about that? It would have saved us probably $6,000.

i am still dennis, iris, and box friend. you people out there that saided some angry things about Iris and Dennis and fred all along . Shout mean things and then you go up to them and say something nice to them after the meeting. i think you people are two-faced. but that is my opinion.

If you think that thanking a person for years of service is being two faced, so be it. If friends are appointed to the council, so be it, as long as they don't waste my tax dollars on the crap that the previous council blew it on. I hope the new council is smart enough to follow the terms of an employment contract they might enter into, and please follow the advice of your city attorney, so we don't get sucked up into another big law suit that we can't afford to pay. Becky: Don't you have someone that can proofread your postings before you subject the rest of us to your illiteracy?

wow, really. so will the mayor and entire counsel will be made up of family members? brewer mentioned that he was going to appoint family with different last names similar as to travis being his nephew and has the last name of miles. pretty slick. slick indeed.

I don't care who is related to who, or if they don't go to church on Sunday. What I do care about is wasting my tax dollars. I am for paying our city employees a fair livable family wage to attract smart honest people. As for ragging on the Breuers, as long as they are smart and honest in their dealings involving my tax dollars and the people they oversee, I have no problem with their last name.

why did this not get released? i think some more of those good ol boys should get fired.

why did the mayor deny the request for this document then and only today it was released after the recall? why are these other employees still working at the city. this is not their first claim. maybe the problem is not the counsel as much as it is the employees causing much grief.

You almost had me there green until you said the word honest... Then I put on the brakes... All I can think about is all the money he charged for rent at the old shopping center. Money hungry... No thanks.

Washington There you go again. It is time for you to move out of town. Quit spewing your hatred on everyone. You lost so give it up. And stiop lying....................Travis Miles is NOT retlated to David Brewer.

ok, a little connect the dots for those who would like to play. mike brewer (david brewer brother) is married to travis miles aunt (jane miles brewer) and is the operations manager for miles excavating. there is your connection. related.

more trivia you say. ok, well david brewer is a silent partner of falcon lakes golf club. yes, the same company who was bribing the community with free beer and appetizers for certain election votes. well that is until the attorney general office contacted them and advised them they can not do that.

mike brewer also is the operations director for suburban water. they are the second highest water rate in the usa. chuck brewer which owns westland is the sole provider for sewer repair without any bids to city of basehor. now david brewer wants to install new lining in the sewer lines in basehor. guess who owns a sewer lining company. you guessed it, david brewer with kc construction. it might be easier to hire one brewer to funnel the funds to the others to keep all the check writing to a minimum.

glad to see roger brant on tv for an interview. he does not live in the city but had to be there at the counsel meeting to protect his interest as the sole provider of rock salt, gravel and dirt for the city street department without bids. he stayed after and chatted with david brewer, at the celebration party, to reaffirm his open ended handshake agreement of bidless work.

now mr brewer will appoint 4 new counsel members to office. rumor has it that they will be close friends and family with different last names. for us that went to school here, we know who is related to who as we know your children. it has been this way for many moons and will continue in the foreseeable future.

I know you wanted to be mayor someplace down the road so your resignation is a hugely principled stand that doesn't happen very often in politics at any level. You have my complete admiration for your unquestioned honor. DUTY HONOR COUNTRY are more than words for you.

He fell on the sword? He knew he would be recalled next and would not be able to run for mayor. That is the one and only reason that he resigned. In case you have forgotten ........he was one of the three who voted to fire Mr. Loughry. He is part of the team that started this whole mess. That is the reason Mertz and Dysart were recalled. Please stop acting like he is a martyr.

These people and previous council members have squandered millions of the taxpayers dollars and have also cost many others small fortunes by their stupidity. It's one thing being a nice person but it does not necessarily make one capable of governing. This town can no longer tolerate people that have no experience or have limited knowledge to sit on its council. In my opinion, its time for this city to look at reforming the method of our City government..

ok, a little connect the dots for those who would like to play. mike brewer (david brewer brother) is married to travis miles aunt (jane miles brewer) and is the operations manager for miles excavating. there is your connection. related.

more trivia you say. ok, well david brewer is a silent partner of falcon lakes golf club. yes, the same company who was bribing the community with free beer and appetizers for certain election votes. well that is until the attorney general office contacted them and advised them they can not do that.

mike brewer also is the operations director for suburban water. they are the second highest water rate in the usa. chuck brewer which owns westland is the sole provider for sewer repair without any bids to city of basehor. now david brewer wants to install new lining in the sewer lines in basehor. guess who owns a sewer lining company. you guessed it, david brewer with kc construction. it might be easier to hire one brewer to funnel the funds to the others to keep all the check writing to a minimum.

glad to see roger brant on tv for an interview. he does not live in the city but had to be there at the counsel meeting to protect his interest as the sole provider of rock salt, gravel and dirt for the city street department without bids. he stayed after and chatted with david brewer, at the celebration party, to reaffirm his open ended handshake agreement of bidless work.

now mr brewer will appoint 4 new counsel members to office. rumor has it that they will be close friends and family with different last names. for us that went to school here, we know who is related to who as we know your children. it has been this way for many moons and will continue in the foreseeable future.

basehordream you are a sad ,sad person. If you are such a trustworthy citizen why do you tell so many lies? Your statement above is so full of it that it is really funny to read. If you are so full of facts, approach the people you question in public forum and face your lies to the community so you can understand that YOU LOST!!!!! MOVE ON!!!! IT IS OVER FOR YOU!!!! Hows my score? betretter them peggies?

The above comments are not the best example of this community.
I appreciate everyone at City Hall last night being able to agree to dis-agree, shake hands and move on. I am proud of the great progress that the Council made during my three years in which I served.
I ask the public to move on and support the efforts to find 4 replacements for this City Council. People may have forgotten the big picture here. This is a small town and we might pass each other on the streets, at the schools and other functions. Please shake hands, be pleasant and remember life is too short to carry this beyond this point. It was all over at 12:01am.
Lets hope this is the last negative article about our city in this newspaper or on TV.

I will ask again that the comments below this one be good in nature and positive as the entire United States is watching this. Stop blaming and pointing fingers. Enough is enough.

Are we talking about the Breuer's that took the eye sore of a grocery store and turned it into a very nice shopping center? Was it the same Breuer’s (Ray and Ann Breuer) who donated property to Basehor Library and the Basehor Historical Society? Basehor Dream... by your own score card Travis Miles is not David Breuer's nephew. They are not related... these are the facts not rumors.

you people of basehor want some interesting reading. go to CITYOFBASEHOR.INFO AND CLICK ON FILES THEN CLICK ON JASON CORY CLAIM AGAINST THE CITY . how come the public did't know about this , the council members didn't know . who down at city hall is hiding stuff. please read all the pages , it gets interesting as it go. the date it came was nov. 2011

I do remember seeing Becky as the poster child for the program "No Child Left Behind. Becky do like Dennis said and move on please. You have no clue as you have shown so do not keep embarrassing yourself please.